Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat posted a video on Twitter making rounds on social media. He claims to have come across ballot tampering in the recent Uttarakhand assembly polls. In the video, a person at an army centre can be seen ticking and signing multiple ballot papers. Although Rawat refused to disclose the source of the video, he insisted that it was from Uttarakhand.
एक छोटा #वीडियो सबकी जानकारी के लिए वायरल कर रहा हूंँ, इसमें एक #आर्मी के सेंटर में किस प्रकार से एक ही व्यक्ति सारे #वोटों को टिक कर रहा है और यहां तक कि सभी लोगों के हस्ताक्षर भी वही कर रहा है, उसका एक नमूना देखिए, क्या इलेक्शन कमिशन इसका संज्ञान लेना चाहेगा?@UttarakhandCEO pic.twitter.com/yAd4UVPpLh
— Harish Rawat (@harishrawatcmuk) February 22, 2022
Prominent Congress leaders called the event a “mockery of democracy” and asked the Election Commission (EC) to take cognizance of it. The BJP, in response, called this “Congress’ frustration”, claiming that the party could see its defeat clearly in the upcoming election results and was acting out of desperation in making these claims.
The developments
The EC has asked the authorities to pen down a written complaint on behalf of Congress candidate Pradeeppal while directing the Pithoragarh police to file a case against the alleged tampering. The event allegedly took place on November 14, at the time of voting in Uttarakhand. The Pithoragarh Police said a case was registered, and a written complaint has been submitted to the EC.
State Congress Chief Ganesh Godiyal told ANI that the police had filed a report. “A person has claimed impersonation, officials were scheduled to come to his house to take the vote, but they did not arrive,” he said.
BJP blames Congress’ frustration
The BJP was quick to retort to the allegation of voter tampering and claimed that Congress’s statements stemmed from the party’s frustration, and it was triggering new controversies because it could see itself being defeated in the election results. “The Congress is resorting to such tactics as it is aware that it has failed to mislead people. In the face of its imminent defeat, the party, talking earlier about manipulation of EVMs, is now talking about ballot papers. It shows the party’s frustration”, is what Uttar Pradesh Media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan told PTI. Chauhan also added that the army must be kept away from politics and that Congress should be more responsible and avoid levelling allegations without testing their authenticity.
Rawat’s political aspirations
Earlier, Congress had refused to announce a chief ministerial candidate for the state going into the polls, raising questions about the future of Rawat in Uttarakhand. However, Rawat quickly pointed out that the party will contest the elections under his leadership and that not announcing an official CM candidate was a “strategic move”. He said that he believes in the politics of “struggle, not power”. He further claimed that the party had asked him to lead the elections, and nobody had any objections to him doing so.
He also mentioned how he would like to see Uttarakhand have a Dalit CM one day, similar to Punjab. However, when asked about the contradiction statements, he said, ”there is no deadline for the wish to be fulfilled.”
